UPDATED February 4, 2022
This is part of a series of trip reports from a 2008 southern California trip. Changes since then are noted with "NOW".
This is the 4th of 11 posts (10 travel days plus final thoughts) adapted from e-mails I sent to friends and family. This was my 3rd trip there, the previous two being in the early 1980s and 1996. My dad came with me this trip.
On this day we went to Knotts Berry Farm, which I last visited in the 1980s. In my second trip down I passed in favour of 6 Flags. Unless otherwise noted, the rides were roller coasters, thus my dad passed on them and thus I often had to remove my glasses. Events are listed in order, after walking through the Ghost Town (as in Western, not supernatural):
* Pony Express: Horse themed coaster
* Calico Railroad: A tour railroad, not a roller coaster, kind of like its Disney counterpart (see below), only it doesn't surround most of the park, just a large portion, you see more of the "backyard" of the park. And it has a mock hold-out. My dad also went on this.
* Silver Bullet: Didn't really stick in memory but I think it had a large 360 degree turn
* Boomerang: A number of loops including a 360 degree one, then backwards the same course
[NOW: This ride is now closed.]
* Perilous Plunge: Mild until the large plunge down water at the end; brief. Went twice, even though it felt until the plunge like it might tip over and even though there's been a fatality
[NOW: This ride is now closed.]
* Sky Cabin: Not a coaster; went twice: once solo, once with my dad. You're in a cabin that slowly rotates as it goes way up, then gently lowers to the ground
* X-Celerator: Very fast roller coaster
* Supreme Scream: Like the Maliboomer in Disney’s California Adventure, only taller and with more of a drop
[NOW: While Supreme Scream is still around, the Maliboomer has closed.]
We had lunch at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, then:
* Bigfoot Rapids (rode twice): Circular raft like Grizzly Bear in Disney’s California Adventure, only longer and smoother
[NOW: This ride is now closed.]
* Calico Railroad again
* Calico Mine Ride: My dad went on this (not a coaster). A train travels through a mine with various displays
* Log Cabin (went three times): Flume ride like Splash Mountain in Disneyland Resort, only with western instead of Song of the South theme
[NOW: This is now called the Timber Mountain Log Ride.]
* Montezuma's Revenge: Pretty dramatic while it lasts but unlike the real thing ends fast * Jaguar: Long but relatively tame coaster
* Mystery Lodge Theatre (show that my dad and I saw). A Native American show with interesting visuals; no photography was permitted for the show
* GhostRider: Went on twice. It's a wooden coaster with very long track. Not related to any of the comic book Ghost Riders.
* Bigfoot Rapids twice more.
Three families missed their bus; their own fault because the designated pick-up time was made very clear. After dinner I decided to burn an extra day at the Disney parks because my pass is good for five days and we had slotted in time for four full days. And the parks were open late that night. At Disney’s California Adventure I took a lot of really nice night time shots, visited part of Disney Animation (only one or two sections were open; an interactive showcase), bought a Disneyland history book at a nearby store in the park, and then, as this was likely my last visit this trip, finished where I started, with Soarin' over California.
[NOW: Soarin' Over California has been replaced with Soarin' Around the World.]
I arrived at Disneyland Park during the fireworks and took some photos. I rode two tame rides:
* Disneyland Railroad: Does a circuit around the park with a few stops. Present and prehistoric Grand Canyon dioramas between Tomorrowland and Main Street Stations.
* Monorail: Travels to and from Downtown Disney, passing Grand Californian Hotel and California Adventure. Young girl coughed on me, complete with saliva. I was on this ride during the previous trips but not with the current route. Then I did another trip on the Monorail to Downtown Disney, not realizing how big it was thus how far from the hotel.
I finally wandered back to the Howard Johnson.
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